The Miami Dolphins have begun cleaning up their roster ahead of NFL free agency. A former star defender of the team has to take his hat off for this.
The Dolphins, deep in cap space, will part ways with cornerback Xavien Howard and edge rusher Emmanuel Ogbah. Howard’s dismissal is particularly serious, after all, he was the longest-serving member of head coach Mike McDaniel’s squad.
Howard was a second-round pick by the team in the 2016 draft and was at one point the highest-paid cornerback in the NFL. Howard’s cap hit for 2024 is currently $25.9 million. The problem for Miami, however, is that Howard’s contract only provides significant cap savings if he is declared a so-called post-June 1 cut. This saves them $18.5 million in cap space at the time.
But with his $25.9 million at the start of the league year, he still counts fully against the salary cap, so further moves are necessary to get under the cap. Even after the salary cap of $255.4 million was announced, the Dolphins are currently still at -$25 million – even -37.6 million if they have at least 51 players on the roster.
Dolphins: Experienced defender no longer in demand
A step that will help immediately is the release of Ogbah, which brings cap savings of four million dollars.
Howard ended last season after 13 games with a foot injury and will turn 31 in July. Reason enough to look for a younger option in free agency or the draft.
Ogbah, also a second-round pick in 2016 (Cleveland Browns), has played for the Dolphins since 2020 and was recently only a backup. He played in just 25 percent of the defensive snaps, even though the team hardly had any edge players available at the end of the season due to injuries. He will be 31 in November.